Seeing in the Light
by Hawk Goggles
Summary: Hikari had always had trouble with the dark. It was hard to see in, so seeing in the light should be easier. Yet, when that light blinds and distorts her vision, what would she see then? How can she find a way to see what's truly there? She may need help to clear things up.


**Seeing in the Light**

The day before the ceremony carried a heavy atmosphere. The air was damp, the halls quiet. The only thing that could be heard were the clicking of heels on the stone floor. A young woman made her way through the dark corridors with a tray of food and a light smile on her face. She approached a wooden door and placed the tray down to straighten her white dress, and fix a familiar clip in her long hair.

Opening the door she was greeted with a sight that she had become accustomed to over the past few weeks. The darkness... and the beaten boy laying before her. The light from the hall barely illuminated him, but his blond locks stood out. Fetal, the boy moved just enough to make eye contact. His tired blue eyes staring deep into her own.

The girl laid down the tray once again to walk forward and crouch down to the boy's level. She reached out and gently grasped his face, pulling their lips together. A few seconds passed before the boy's eyes seem to awaken to what is happening. The girl suddenly jerked her whole body back from the boy now glaring at her.

"Now, now; that's no way to say good morning," the girl licked the fresh blood at her lips. The girl picked up the tray and placed it in front of her, not getting any closer to the angry boy. The boy grabbed at the tray and pulled the food towards him, he didn't give an answer. After spitting her blood from his mouth, he just simply ate in silence.

The smile that never left her face grew just a bit more. The wounds the boy had worn before the kiss seemed to have vanished. "It seems I've gotten better control of my powers of light," she boasted. Still not getting a response, she added slyly, "and kissing too."

The boy's glare only grew sharper as he focused on eating. The girls lips turned to a slight frown. She wasn't getting anything from this boy. Riling him up was good and all, but it wasn't her intention to get him angry. It at least wasn't her ending goal; only a step in the right direction.

"No speech about how my family and friends miss me?" the girl pondered. "Not going to mention my family again? My parents…? The digimon...?" she smiled again. The boy kept eating in silence. This was truly bothersome to the girl. Her acting was having no effect. She was out of time to be dealing with this boy.

When the boy was first captured, he pleaded with the girl to escape with him. Little did he know, she had already belonged to her lord. It had be a hard, painful, and _shameful_ process but it had been done. She asserted to belong to her lord in heart and body. The regretful look on the boys face when she first told him was what she expected. When he started trying to bring her "senses" back, it was also expected.

The only thing he hadn't done was try to escape. The girl saw it as his way of not giving up on her. He had also never tried to hurt her. He made a fuss, but never truly harmed her. Normally it would be out of the question for him to do such a thing, but she had also added physical abuse to her verbal, and yet he didn't even defend himself. Her lord taught her that the best way to get your feelings across was through pain. She didn't feel the same affection that her lord felt for her, for the boy but she tried getting _something_ across anyway. She had thrown those feelings away a long ago, but she felt he held _something_ for her so she abused that. Yet that only made him react violently. If it wasn't that, then it was nothing. What would it take for this boy to despair? It was really frustrating.

This whole routine was just training for the girl. An exercise become used to cruelty. To break someone close to her. To cultivate and warp her light even more than it already had became. Yet she only felt irritation in the nothingness that was once her heart.

Just as the girl was a special case for her lord, this boy was the same for her. Yet there he sat, finishing his breakfast. Coming back to reality, she noticed he wasn't even paying attention to her anymore. He pushed the tray back to her and repeated the same first words after she kisses him. "I told you not to heal me that way."

"Sorry, but I'm supposed to torture you," the girl forced her now already small smile. "I kinda have to do what you don't like, silly."

"You don't have to do anything," the boy sighed. This was the boy's new plan. He stopped bringing up everyone the girl knew and started focusing only on her, when talking. It seemed that he too was starting to tire of this game. Instead of changing her mind, he wanted to understand what had happened. His now calm and inquisitive demeanor didn't help her cause a single bit.

The girl tried to bring to conversation back to her pace. "Ha, you say that like I don't enjoy it," the girl leaned in close, "and I think you do too."

"Bite me," just as those words left the boy's mouth, he felt the girl's come in contact with his shoulder. His throat contracted as it held in a scream. He grit his teeth as he felt the blood drip down his back. His hand clenched in pain. The girl released her hold, and his other hand shot up cupping the bite. The girl moved back to her original position clearly licking at her teeth behind her lips. As if doing the boy a favor she lightly brought her hand to her mouth and swallowed.

"See, it's not that hard to accept others now is it?" the girl whipped the rest of the blood from her mouth. "Now all you need to do is accept my lord as your master and you can actually move to a real room with a bed. You can have warm food again. Doesn't all that sound nice?" she forced her smile once again.

The boy took haggard breathes, " _You_ had it much worse than me before you gave-" the boy was cut off with a strike to the face that sent him to the floor. The girl rose to tower over the him. The once dark room started to fill with a dark light. It was as if the girl's darkness was eating away at the room's. It illuminated and clouded the boy's vision. He glared at full force at the girl looming above him. He braced himself; for this was when the daily battle would begin again.

The girl's beatings could be heard for quite sometime. Hit after hit, the boy endured, never closing his eyes, looking straight into the girl's. Not resisting, yet also not giving in. He held on as she showed strength and stamina that betrayed her slim figure.

The girl's mind was swimming, barely concentrating on what she was doing. Images flashed before her mind's eye. Mental pictures that she wanted to forget. Memories that she thought she threw away. This was all the boy's fault and she didn't have anyone else to take her feelings out on. The boy was lifted off the ground and slammed roughly into the wall behind him. The air knocked out from his lungs.

The girl seized the time he wouldn't be able to talk back. "I'm sure I told _you_ not to talk about that," she hissed. The situation always reached this point when the boy brought attention to what had happened when she was captured. She didn't want to remember it; didn't want to think about it. Yet here she was, doing the same to someone else. She wasn't foolish. She knew the other reason for this charade was to also keep her in place. To brake the girl's heart even more than it was. Yet, that wasn't what upset her the most.

It was the boy. His words, his defiance, but most of all it was his eyes. No matter how strong he acted his eyes always betrayed him. The girl could easily read him like a book. A book that no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't rewrite. She could add things and damage the book, but she couldn't change what was already there. Only the boy could do that.

The boy accepted things well enough. The food, her words, and her anger. In doing this, he was trying to put himself in her shoes but no matter how much he tried, that would never happen. No matter what the girl had went though, or given up, she too couldn't completely change. There were still lines that she wouldn't cross and even that brought her ire. Was she really this shallow? Could she not commit?

Try her best, the girl still couldn't fully accept the situation she was in. This brought out her jealousy. Jealous at this boy, who wasn't as special as she was. Who could never understand the same pain she went through. What kept him going? Was he really that willing to save her? How could he stand having his hopes crushed day after day? To heal him, giving him a way out, and to punish him for when he was too stupid not to take it.

"Why?" the girl whispered. As if ghosts started to escape her lips, "do I really matter that much? Who would go through this much for one person? Is my light really that special? Am I just a tool? Isn't caring about someone else just stupid? Won't it just cause them pain? I don't get it. I don't get you. I don't even get..." The girl started mumbling to herself finally downing out her anger with despair.

Caught up in her own thoughts, the girl was shocked when the boy suddenly spoke, "is this really who I came here for?" Unlike her own mindless ramblings his words were clear and directed. The only problem was that they were aimed at her. She could feel her mind screeching to a halt. His blue eyes stared into her own. She saw her reflection within them. A reflection that she didn't recognize. At least not anymore. It slowly started to change into the one that she now saw every morning when she prepared for the day.

It happened again. The boy had accepted his reality, again. The thing he'd been holding out on the longest had finally changed. Yet, the girl didn't feel relived at all. He looked at her not with anger or despair, but pity. His eyes showed acceptance, and his body sagged with a feeling of defeat. What did this mean? She couldn't comprehend what was going on anymore. His eyes didn't show a feeling of giving up on the girl, but why did she feel like he already had. She slowly let the boy go.

"I guess we're done," the boy stated for them both. The girl looked into the boys eyes one last time. The same look, the same reflection. She slowly backed away before turning to leave. The boy slid down to the ground to rest. The girl left the room and closed the door without giving any further glances.

The girl slid her back against the door in a similar way as the boy had. She couldn't help but feel frustrated. Was she truly no good, no matter how hard she tried? She couldn't use her powers for the forces of good like they were intended. She also couldn't be evil like her new lord wanted. Yet, the thing that upset her the most was that boy. She couldn't even break him like she now was. He couldn't even give up right. She was the only one who seemed to have ended up worse than when they had started.

She had figured out the point of this trial, but she couldn't find the correct answer. She knew something was wrong, but couldn't put a finger on what. Was it her old emotions or her new feelings? She felt as if she was drowning. It was appropriate, yet displeasing. She couldn't take it anymore. She didn't want to feel anymore. So she did the only thing she could. She let go of everything. Just like when she had first given up. That time, she had let go of the people and ideals that were important to her. It seems that it was half-hearted, so she world have to try harder this time.

The girl's lord had spent a lot of effort building her back up. It seemed that she still had attachment to her past life, however negative or positive it may have been. Her lord may be displeased, with the ceremony coming tomorrow, but an empty vessel would be better than a cracked one. Like before, it would take time, but there were enough hours in the day. It's not like she truly cared about this new persona. It was just a means to an end. It would be easy to throw away.

The girl slowly stood up and dusted herself off. She started making her way down the hall. As she purged herself of thoughts and feelings. The only words that escaped her lips were, "goodbye, Takeru."

* * *

The sand beneath the girl's feet was a mixture of a clumpy, coarseness that clung to her skin. Being so close to the tide, it was only expected. To be running through it in her dress was rather difficult, but she kept going out of hope and fear. It was hard to process what had happened in the past few hours. Yet, the only thing she knew was that she was running through a gray beach with Takeru leading her by the hand.

Thinking back, it still didn't make sense to her. The ceremony had been going as expected. The girl's lord was upset that all his emotional work was seemingly undone within her, but concluded that an empty vessel would work all that same. Her light was still twisted, and her feelings still crushed.

The ceremony would bind them in soul. He would become owner of her body and she would disappear into her lords consciousness. The girl was alright with it, as long as it freed her from this state of loss and emptiness.

As her lord rose from the ocean, the chanting of his followers rang in her ears. Formalities, for they were of no real importance. Their master's tentacles wiggled in intricate movements. The water rose around him and towered into the sky. He was becoming vulnerable as he discarded his old body. She saw it sag as if someone took off a rubber suit.

The water barrier kept rising higher into the sky and started to arc towards her. Her lord had to keep himself somewhat safe during this ritual.

As the arc came closer, the water rained down on the girl. She could make out a black shadow within it's center. Seeing it she started to shake. Again, her emotions surfaced. Again her facade was broken. She lost the feelings in her legs and crumbled on the beach beneath her. Her hands rose to wrap around her arms. She shut her eyes waiting for everything to end. Yet, her end never came. The rain however, had stopped.

The girl looked up to find a cloaked demon pushing back the arc of water with a raging flame. The girl's eyes widened with shock. In her helplessness, she had forgotten all about the demon that was sent to this dark world. Has he been waiting all this time? Just waiting for her lord to weaken himself before attacking?

As if turning up a radio, the noise around the girl came to her attention. The beings around her were in an uproar. They were panicked and disorganized. None of them thought for a second that anything could go wrong. Yet through out all that noise she could make out the words, "prisoner". Had something happened with Takeru? Had he gotten away? She couldn't help but give a small smile at the thought of the boy getting away. The girl rose her head to stare and the battle above her. Her lord was at the disadvantage without a body. Even with that the girl couldn't find the strength to move. She simply awaited what fate had in store for her.

More commotion attracted her attention from behind her. There was something nostalgic within it. One voice was louder and clearer than all others. As if in response to it, felling came back to the girl. Her heartbeat could be felt. The warm blood flowed faster. Tears of relief and happiness welled at the girls eye. She knew that she would have to thank that person a thousand times over for everything he did for her. Once again the voice yelled out her name.

"Hikari!" Takeru exclaimed as they ran together down the cool gray beach. "Keep an eye on the D-3."

Hikari snapped back to the present. She was suppose to figure out a way to connect to the others with her light. "Do you really think this will work?" she asked more to herself.

"I got here with less before so it should help if you're the one holding it." As if responding to it's owner's will, a bunch of dots appeared on the screen. Takeru looked over and smiled. "See, those are all of our friends looking for us." Their feelings making the connection possible. However, they were a bit far off. The two still had a fair bit to run before they met up with anyone.

Hikari, while still unstable, was feeling the best she hand in a long time. She looked to her side at Takeru. He seemed to be a bit irritated. "I know I healed your wounds and gave you a bit of a pick me up, but your hunger won't go away; sorry." As if realizing the face he was making, Takeru glanced over and gave her a wary grin. "Are you sure you're alright?"

Takeru then gave a bigger smile than before "As long as I can keep running I'm fine, but are you okay?" A familiar look of wanting to understand crossed his eyes. A look that was unsure about the girl next to him.

Hikari could only avert her eyes from the boy beside her. It was hard to say but she tried her best. She had told Takeru a little bit of what had happened to her when he was first captured but she never told him how she felt. He listened about how she felt alone and scared. Her… No, Dagomon had also made her believe that her friends abandoned her. How she felt angry at them and wanted them to feel even just a little bit like she had felt. All of these feelings compounded themselves when Takeru showed up.

The two slowed down as they turned off and started heading inland. Takeru seemed to be lost in thought. Hikari noticed this and thought he was getting mad with her. "I want to say sorry about everything I did to you." Apologizing only seemed to make her feel worse. She didn't even want to be in this situation to begin with. "I gave up on you and the others just so I didn't have to feel bad, and then I got angry over things you couldn't help" tears spilled from her face.

Takeru did look upset but not for the reasons she thought he would. "You know it's not your fault, right?" He walked up and wiped at the girl's tears. The girl wanted to protest but he quieted her with his words. "I'm also sorry… about a lot of things. I wished you hadn't been taken in the first place. I'm upset that you had to go through what you did and I can't even try to begin to understand how you felt then."

Hikari averted her gaze once again. She didn't deserve these words. Dagomon may have went on about wanting her but it wasn't like he cared for the girl herself. It must have been worse for Takeru who was hurt by someone he cared about. "Look me in the eye. I wasn't done talking," Takeru's voice cut through her thoughts once again. The look his eyes were a lot more serious than they had ever been. "And what I regret the most, is what I wasn't able to convey to you on the day you were first taken to the dark ocean."

The first time? That felt like so long ago. She tried to remember. He seemed to be upset with her then too. Upset that she relied on her brother; could it be that? "I know, I forgot that I could rely on you and everyone else. I know that I can trust you all to try your best for my sake." Those words, while reassuring, stung. Even before all this happened she didn't like people fighting for sake.

Takeru slowed down to a stop. Looking back Hikari saw a sad look in his eyes. With a sad smile on his face he shook his head. "Depending on your friends is great and all, but what about yourself?" he asked. Hikari seemed to have frozen even more than she already was. What about herself? "I don't know how long you were dealing with it but it bothered me how apathetic you were to the whole thing," Takeru lightly pushed Hikari forward to resume moving.

"When you came back the second time with Miyako… I can't say I wasn't a little jealous, but it seemed like you just shifted from depending on your brother over to her," Takeru smiled a bit remembering. "It never seemed like you were ever able to deal with it by yourself," Takeru seemed to pause with thought. "I'm not saying that you were wrong but… don't you think that you give in to others as easy as you do because you lack some self confidence?"

Hikari walked forward, keeping herself from looking back at the boy talking to her. His words hitting cords within her. "You didn't make a bad choice at the time, but it kind of bothered me how easy it was to get you to run with me when I got to the beach," Takeru explained. "I mean, I had given up on getting you to come with me willingly."

Was that what that look meant when they last met? "But I thought you gave up on me back then? I thought you would have runaway by yourself," Hikari squeaked. She could feel Takeru smiling behind her.

"I gave up on trying to change you," Takeru grinned. "But I was really banking on you coming back one last time. I got really lucky." Hikari marveled at how the he could be this upbeat about admitting how much danger he could have and currently is in. She remembered how he had came running to her, almost without being able to raise one of his arms.

"How do you keep going on like that?" Hikari still had to ask, even if she knew his answer. She needed to hear it for herself.

"Depend on your friends and believe in yourself," Takeru stated simply. Hikari knew he'd say such pretty words, but questioned who he had to depend on. "You're here, aren't you?" Her? How could he believe in her? "You kept healing me." That was to break his spirit. "It showed you still cared. You were really diligent." Was that true? "If had you stopped showing up, it would have been really bad. Yet, the worst case scenario would have been being killed. Can't really do much about that." Was he really prepared to take it that far?

"Why go so far?" Hikari stopped in her tracks not believing the things coming out of his mouth. However she again knew the words that would come.

"How close do you think we are?" Takeru hugged her from behind. "You give me an irreplaceable relationship that I don't have with anyone else." Hikari couldn't even begin to express the gratitude she was feeling. "And look, there are the other people important to you." Takeru pointed at figures that stood out against the gray forest they seemed to have come into. Bright colors clashed with the gray back ground. All of their friends had seemed to gather to where her and Takeru where.

"Brother!" Hikari dashed out of Takeru's grasp to her older sibling. As she tried to grasp at her brother, her fingers went through him. Remembering what happened the second time she came into this world she could only ball her fists. "...They're so close..."

"That's right," Takeru walked up. "That means we need to push just a little bit more." Before they could come up with a plan, a loud crash thundered in their ears. They both looked as the sky filled with smoke. The gray forest in front of them started to gain color. However instead of greens and browns it was oranges and reds. The heat wafted at their faces. "Is Daemon still fighting?" Takeru grabbed at Hikari, pushing her away from the heat. "Come on, we need to move."

Hikari was trying to push past her distress and trying to find a way back to her friends. Seeing her bother and friends run along with them gave her motivation. She had to do this. Not just because leaving was what she wanted most, but also for Takeru's sake. He had tried so hard for her, so she needed to do the same for him. She needed to do the same for his brother and partner too. For all of her friends who wanted to see them again. Her grip on Takeru's D-3 tightened.

Hikari's could hear her heart beating in her ears. Even though it was stressful, the beats slowed down with each step. A feeling in her chest started to well up. A feeling she thought she threw away. She stopped as the D-3 lit up and a beam of light shot forward. As if the light hit an invisible wall, it spreed out against the forest giving it color. She and Takeru were also washed with color from the small device. Hikari couldn't believe it. She was able make a portal. It wasn't an act she was able to do by herself but she had willed it to happen. Not to just run away, but to be with the people who cared about her.

"I did it!" Hikari couldn't contain her excitement. Her friends could see her but the portal separated the world like a distorted mirror. As hard as their friends pressed, they couldn't seem to pass through. Hikari was just about the run up when Takeru tackled her too the ground. A fireball whizzed by and passed through the portal over everyone's heads.

"Look's like it's only one way," Takeru helped Hikari to her feet. Unbeknownst to them the fire had caught up with them. "One last sprint." With flames at their backs, they started to run as fast as they could to get to the portal when a rush of wind made them trip on their feet. Looking up they saw a black figure in front of them. Dagomon hadn't been killed yet.

Hikari shivered as the formless black mass moved towards the two. She gripped the device in her hand closer to her chest. They were almost there. She need to just squeeze out just enough spirit to get through this. She moved to get ready to dash from the ground.

The darkness suddenly rushed at her. Hikari started to kick from the ground when she felt a weight try to push her as close to the ground as possible. She felt an intense heat at her back and sides. Had Daemon try to hit Dagomon by blasting through her? Through…!

Hikari turned herself around on her back. She saw Takeru with a pained expression on his face. He had moved so he was still shielding her. He had gotten up so that he wasn't laying on her anymore. The flames that lightly surrounded them felt cold. Her heart stopped. It only started again when he gave her are reassuring smile that it would be okay. However when he seemed like he could only bear opening one eye she felt as if a large rock fell into her stomach.

Takeru pulled Hikari up and rushed to the portal. Daemon's attack had stopped. She didn't have time to think of a reason. Before she knew it, she was in front of the portal. Stopped and waiting, the boy before her was looking down. Ignoring the world… His friends in front of him desperately yelling for them to come over. She wanted to go through but only together. She wouldn't let go of the hand that had been with her for so long.

Takeru seemed to take a long breath before looking over to Hikari. Her voice hitched as she looked into his eyes. She was faced with a look she'd seen before. Suddenly feeling a yank of her arm, she was thrust forward. The odd angle of motion made her fall backwards through the portal looking upon the boy who would be staying behind. Tears welled up in her eyes by thinking of what would happen to him. Wanting to scream at him but unable to find a voice. She could only just watch as he gave her a wink and smiled.

"I'm sorry," Takeru admitted. "I hope… we can meet again soon. So until then, this is goodbye." Takeru turned away to face Daemon who was still behind them.

As if accepting her was it's only duty the portal blinked shut when Hikari passed through. Deaf to the sounds around her, her brother and digimon rushed to the ground hugging her and checking if she was alright. Her other friends rushed with just as much emotion over her. Only one trio seemed to be upset even with her back. They were yelling at were the portal once stood. Screaming for it to open back up and give them back the blond that stayed. Others went to calm them down with reassuring words.

Numb, that was the only thing Hikari could feel. Why? She didn't want to understand what had just transpired. Yet, she new this horrible feeling couldn't be thrown away. She knew why it had to be, but that didn't make her feel better.

During her time in that dark world Hikari had cried, screamed, and sobbed for herself. Yet now the only thing she could do was wail in agony over the person who helped her so much. To take her place there wasn't fair in the slightest. She could only drown out the world around her with sorrow.

* * *

Two white figures flew over a gray landscape. The ocean the land was know for was no where in sight. Nothing but a sea of trees were beneath them and a large structure was on the horizon. The closer they came the more they could make out the building. It was a castle. A red flag was raised. An Inverted star with an eye in the middle was woven in it's center. A third figure, riding one of the two ordered a landing.

Landing in a clearing not far off from the castle, the rider got off her companion. "I know I wanted to get here before it got too late, but you two could have slowed down a bit." The small figure brushed at her short chestnut hair.

"You're the one who couldn't wait, Hikari," A female angle replied. "You ran off with us as fast as you could without telling the others." She looked over to their other companion, "you should say something too, Angemon."

Angemon seemed to be hesitant. Angewomon was right in that it was bad of Hikari to just leave the way she did, but he wanted to be here just as much as she did. "I understand how you feel, but the others..." He trailed off turning away.

"You two are such worry warts," Hikari messed with her hair even more to get it out of her eyes. "Even if the others came, it wouldn't have made any difference."

"But were dealing with a M _ega,_ aren't we?" Angewomon stressed the level of opponent they'd be fighting.

Deciding to just take out her hair clip and place it in her mouth, Hikari kept brushing at her hair with her fingers, "and that's why it would be a waste. They can't keep up so there's no point in bringing more targets to hit." She finally got her hair to sit right and re-placed her clip. "I know I just got a decent control over my power, and am able to get to Mega but the sooner we do this the better. We can't wait to see what happens on this side. It may be to late for us to do anything if we did that. We have to strike first."

Angewomon just sighed and tried to rub at the sides of her head. Hikari was right, none of there others could even get to Ultimate anymore. No crests and no DNA digivolving. It was only thanks to Hikari's light that her and Angemon could get this far. It was mostly for Angemon's sake because the D-3 helped ease her own digivolution, but Hikari could only seem to work it for two digimon at a time for now.

"I know I'm here because I have an advantage against demons, but couldn't we just scout and come up with a plan," Angemon suggested. He wasn't there to act, so much as to just satisfy his own morbid curiosity. That's at least what he told himself.

Hikari walked over to the male angle and raised her arm as high as she cold, to give him a firm pat on the back. "I understand how you feel," she started. "I am feeling uneasy toob but I know we'll be alright; all of us." The words almost seemed unfounded, but Angemon's worries were blown way with the wind.

Angewomon looked over at the two. Angemon had his normal stoic expression back on his face. A small smile might be betraying him but, her helmet might be playing tricks on her. She then looked down at her partner. A strange calmness had overcame Hikari since she gained control of her light. It reminded her of their first adventure. That calmness seemed to spreed around them giving the clearing color that they themselves already had.

Hikari looked around her and became a bit embarrassed. "It seems I've been giving away our location," she flushed. She seemed to think for a second before speaking again. "You know, it's fine if he knows we're here. I think he'd be able to sense us even if we were covered in darkness. We haven't been attacked yet so let's just go like this." She started waking spreading more color as she hit the edge of gray, as if mocking the world she was in and defying it's very existence.

The castle wasn't very far off at all. They were quickly at the front gates. The main gates that led into the castle were opened as if too beckon them inside. Hikari paused only to take everything in. She crossed the threshold coloring the whole interior. Her will, literally spilling into the world around her.

As soon as Angemon crossed one of the D-3s at the girls belt lit up. He digivolved to MagnaAngemon. Hikari could only smile at the change. No words were needed to be spoken as the trio made their way to the center of the castle. Intuition seemingly leading Hikari to her destination. Lefts and rights made without a second guess.

Once again doors stood in their way. Hikari's arm hesitated to raise itself. A pensive look crossed her face. Angewomon noticed. "Do you want me to digivolve to Mega?" she asked the girl.

"No, we need to save power for a pinch." Hikari closed her eyes. She again thought about what she was doing. She was putting herself in a lot of danger because she couldn't help but be motivated by her feelings. She couldn't sit still. She had quickly gotten better control of her powers so her friends wouldn't have to suffer anymore. They weren't mastered but it was enough for what she was about to do. That however, didn't make this any easier.

"Remember that we're here for you." MagnaAngemon reassured.

"Yes," Hikari replied. She remembered why she was here. Resolve swelled within her. Words she carried close to her, rose to her throat. "Depend on your friends and believe in yourself." She was doing both to the up most extent. She took a deep breath and forced those doors open. Color lit the once bland space.

The spreading color drew their eyes to the end of the room. A large throne sat against a window and in it, a hooded figure cloaked in a red mantle. Two connecting gold bangles rested on their left arm as it propped their head up. Even as far as the trio were, they could see it's even breaths. Seemingly not bothered by the intrusion the figure stayed sleeping until their chair was touched by the ever growing color.

The figure tensed the slightest bit. They lazily opened their right eye revealing the whites blackened and the contrasting red iris. They seemed to be holding in a yawn and let it escape as a deep undisturbed sigh. "What are you doing here?" their tired voice asked.

Hikari tensed for a split second. She had played this scenario in her head plenty of times. The things she would say, the things she would do. She had played it out so much that she would dreamed about it. Again, and again, and again. "I came here..." She gather every bit of emotion she could, "I came here to get Takeru back."

"He's not here, go home." The figure closed it's eye again shooting her down.

"You're sitting right there." Hikari challenged. The figure stiffened at the accusation.

" _We,_ are sitting right here" Takeru sat up. They laid their eyes on Hikari and the angels, giving them their full attention.

"If Takeru truly wasn't here then you wouldn't have to be so picky." Hikari stared back.

The figure gave away a small smile. "You are right. Now, We have a question for you. Why did you come here?" Hikari didn't answer. She just kept staring, waiting them out. "It's just, Takeru is really trying hard to keep us here. We've underestimated you humans." They marveled at their arm for emphasis. "Do all humans have this kind of spirit or is the boy special? Or maybe… you were really that weak?"

"Takeru is one of the strongest people I know," Hikari shot back. Hikari knew how weak she was. She also knew how strong she was. Takeru had taught her both.

"Oh, we believe you. We have never been so well rested." They tapped their foot at the throne they sat in. "But seriously..." their eyes sharpened. "Why did you come back? This boy has been giving everything he has to keep us in place. He was willing to take this all the away to the end." The air tensed as he finished his statement. Everyone knew what it implied.

A pregnant pause filled the room. Takeru's mouth once again twisted into a grin. "I mean, we've always switched hosts before it came to that. Normally, we wouldn't be bothered, but now it's a bit terrifying." They couldn't hold in their amusement.

It was Hikari's turn to smile back. "That was only the worst case." Takeru looked at her questioningly. "Takeru wouldn't have told me those words if he didn't want us to come save him. He wouldn't have stayed in one spot so I could find him if he had given that up. I'm here to bring him back and nothings stopping me."

Takeru slowly rose up. The cracking of their joints echoed in the chamber, "so be it." Takeru stretched. "After we're done destroying your pet angels, we'll enjoy submitting you all over again. If not easier, it should at least a lot more… _enjoyable_ this time around."

"Don't listen to that greedy monster Hikari" Angewomon rose to the sky to prepare for battle.

"She's right. Takeru's still in there and we'll get him back, no matter what," Angemon fallowed her lead.

Hikari wasn't bothered. She kept staring into those dark red eyes. No mater the color, those eyes told the truth. She couldn't help but grin, "It really is unfair. Four against one."

Hikari wouldn't let this chance slip by her. No mater what, Takeru is still be there for her. It literally made her light up. She too, would always be there for him. No matter what, always and forever.

* * *

 **AN: If you don't like long winded commentaries feel free to stop here. I hoped you enjoyed the story. Feel free to leave a review... or not. While you can judge any form of media without knowing the creator's intent, I feel knowing, can help you enjoy it a bit more. That, or hate it even more than you thought possible. Either way this insight allows you to not only judge the work but also the person working on it to a deeper degree.**

 **So the first fanfiction I come back with is a digimon one-shot. Didn't think this would happen. Well, it was fun so it doesn't matter. This idea has been running in my head for a while after reading a bunch of Dagomon fics.**

 **I just can't get behind the idea of modern Lovcraftian elements in Digimon. I feel it clashes on a basic level. I like the mental aspect and imagery but the whole supreme powerful god stuff doesn't work for me when the franchise is stuffed with them. It also doesn't help that Dagomon is only an ultimate.**

 **Anyway, the main point is that when I try to focus on the bland Dagomon, all I can think about is Hikari. So I went with the unoriginal plot of "What if Dagomon captured Hikari?" The only problem with this is that I** _have_ **to mostly focus on one aspect of a character. They aren't out of character but because I'm mostly highlighting one aspect it feels like it.**

 **This is about as much angst I can manage. This was also an exercise to write out of my style. Third person but focused on one character's perception, the over all drab, vague feeling. The last third is the closest to my normal writing.**

 **In the end I really liked what I did with Hikari. However I didn't get to do her character complete justice but that is the nature of one-shots. Yet, what I'm most glad about is that I focused on her character and aspects that lead to how she got that way than just the situation it self. That was the crux that Takeru had to carry. She was originally suppose to not care whether she beat Takeru or not but I felt that betrayed the tone of gaining independence.**

 **Speaking of Takeru I pretty much got a shallow characterization out of him. I cover pretty much all bases. Again, I can save getting deeper for another fic. Even though I say deeper it's just a more solid characterization with more focus. Though playing with pronouns was fun. I hope that came across well.**

 **In the end I had a story to tell and I told it. Small steps to something bigger. I was able to keep this little commentary under five hundred words. A hard limit I need to set. Even with all this rambling, the title is the last thing I come up with.**


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